CI/CD Pipeline

This documentation outlines the CI/CD pipeline process for deploying code to Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations environments (LCS or Power Platform), incorporating best practices and strategies from the existing branching strategies and deployment guidelines. This includes automating deployments, ensuring consistency, and reducing errors across environments.

Azure DevOps Configurations

Branching

• Ensure repositories follow the structure defined in the branching strategy documentation.

Environment Setup

• Define environments in Azure DevOps as: Development, Test, Pre-Production, and Production.

Connectors

• Validate connectivity to the target environments before initiating pipelines.

Pipeline as Code

• It is recommended to define pipelines as YAML files and store them in version control.
• Leverage shared templates for reusable pipeline configurations.

Extensions and Agents

• Use Microsoft-hosted build agents for scalability and efficiency.
• Install required Azure DevOps extensions for CI/CD configurations.

Branching Strategy Integration

Environment	Branch
Development	feature/*
Integration	main
Test	release/test/*
Production	release/production/*

The CI/CD pipeline is structured to align with the branching strategy:

Feature Branches (feature/*)

• Used for individual development tasks.
• PR triggers basic validation pipelines.

Integration Branch (main)

• The primary branch for integrating all features.
• Triggers complete Continuous Integration (CI) builds, including testing and artifact generation.

Release Branches

• release/test/*: Targets the Test environment.
• release/production/*: Targets the Production environment.
• Pipelines for these branches include deployment steps.

Hotfix Branches (release/hotfix/*)

• Used for urgent fixes in production.
• Bypasses standard CI builds but includes deployment validation.

Pipeline Steps

Continuous Integration (CI)

• Trigger: On push to main.
• Steps:
  • Compile and validate code.
  • Run automated tests.
  • Generate build artifacts.
  • Store artifacts in Azure DevOps Artifacts.

Continuous Deployment (CD)

• Trigger: On creation or update of main, release/test/* or release/production/*.
• Steps:
  • Deploy artifacts to the specified environment.
  • Execute post-deployment validations.
  • Notify stakeholders.

Hotfix Deployment

• Trigger: On push to release/hotfix/*.
• Steps:
  • Bypass CI validation for expedited deployment.
  • Deploy changes to the Pre-Production environment.
  • Promote to Production upon validation.

Rollback and Recovery

• Trigger: On deployment failure.
• Steps:
  • Revert to the last successful deployment by rolling back the artifact and environment configuration to its previous state.
  • Log the failure for further analysis.
  • Conduct a root cause analysis and implement preventive measures.

Performance Optimization

• Monitor pipeline execution time and identify bottlenecks.
• Implement parallel execution where feasible to speed up builds and deployments.
• Use pipeline caching to optimize artifact retrieval and reduce execution times.
• Configure generic pipelines to dynamically use branch-specific settings, reducing duplication.

Example: Deploying to a Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (LCS or Power Platform) Environment

Refer to the blog post Deploy Code to Power Platform Environment for detailed steps and real-world examples of deploying a release branch to a Power Platform environment.

Maintenance and Updates

• Regularly update shared pipeline files to include new functionality.
• Conduct reviews of the branching strategy and CI/CD configurations quarterly.
• Gather feedback from stakeholders to improve the pipeline process.
• Ensure pipelines use shared templates for consistency across pipelines.
• Leverage generic pipeline configurations to handle all branches efficiently.